Staple forming and clenching machine.



G. M. WALKER.

STAPLE FORMING AND GLENGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, 1909.-

1,007,258. Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

tn, 3 it G. M. WALKER. STAPLE FORMING AND GLENGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, 1909.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

G. M. WALKER. STAPLE FORMING AND GLENGHING MACHINE.

' APPLICATION FILED MAY 3. 1909. 1,007,258.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

011. waif/ten.

G. M. WALKER.

STAPLE FORMING AND OLENOHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, 1909.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

I 1 yi Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

v. ,ZFZaw a a/Z @67266 l I I GAINES M. WALKER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

STAPLE FORMING AND CLENCHING MACHINE.

oomas.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

Application filed May 3, 1909. Serial No. 493,640.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GAINES M. WALKER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of St. Louis, Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Staple Forming and clenching Machines, of which the following isaspeci cation, containing a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

This invention relates to a staple forming and clenching machine, and has for its object to construct an automatic machine for cutting sections of wire fed to the machine, automatic devices for forming the staples, automatic devices for driving the staples through a body of material carried under the driving devices, automatic means for binding the ends of the staples after they are driven through the body of material, and automatic means for embedding the bent end portions of the staples within the body of material.

To the above purposes, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter more fully described, pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an end elevation of the machine having a portion of the frame removed; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine showing only a portion of the machine frame; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional elevation on the indicated line 3-3 of Fig.1; Fig. 4 is an end elevation of one of the staple cutting and forming devices; Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation on the line 55 of Fig. 4, showing a strand of wire in position to be cut; Fig. 6 is an enlarged view similar to Fig. 5, and shows the wlre having a section cut therefrom, and in position to be formed into a staple; Fig. 7 is a sectional plan taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 3; Fig. 8 is a detailed plan partly in section of a part of one of thewire feeding devices; Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation showing the knurled roller in a position relative to a driving device for clenching the staples within the body of material carried on the machine frame; Fig. 10 is an elevation partly in section on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9;-Fig. 11 is an elevation taken on the line 11-11 of Fig. 9; Fig. 12 is an elevation taken on the line 12-12 of Fig. 11; and Fig. 13 is a detailed sectional elevation of one of the rollers for bending the ends of the staples.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings: 1 designates the frame of machine; A

2 and 3 angle bars forming a track for carrying a body of material to be stapled. 4 and 5 designate standards oppositely arranged on the machine frame, and on top thereof and disposed within the standards, arranged for vertical movement therein, are the rods 6 and'Z. I

A crosshead 8 embracing and fixed to the upper end portions of the rods 6 and 7 is channeled and provided with a slot 9. Positioned underneath the crosshead 8 are brackets 10, secured to the crosshead by means of bolts 11, which bolts are threaded at their lower ends and seated in the brackets 10. The upper ends of the bolts extend upwardly some considerable length to permit the use of a wrench thereon above the walls of the channel in the crosshead 8, and each of the bolts 11 is provided with a collar 12, which collar rests on the crosshead 8 within the channel to support the brackets 10. Pending from each bracket 10 is a plate 13, fixed thereto by a set-screw 14, the functions of which plate will hereinafter be more fully described.

Fixed on the forward faces of the standards 4c and 5 is a transversely disposed crossbar 15 provided with a slot extending a considerable portion throughout its length. Rectangular housings 16, provided with integral shoulders 17, are positioned on the rear faces of the crossbar 15 and secured thereto by the bolts 18, which shoulders and bolts are arranged within the slot in the crossbar 15. Plates 19 are provided for closing the space within the housing and are detachably secured thereto by the setscrews 20.

Arranged within the housing 16, and yieldingly connected with the plate 13 by the springs 21 suspended from the crosshead 8, are the wire cutters 22, which are provided with V shaped grooves in their lower end portions. To provide means for operating the wire cutters, non-resilient at times, I pivotally secure to the plate 13 spring actuated detents 23, which engage the upper portions of the wire cutters. Carried by the lower end of the detents 23 are pins or bosses 24, which pins engage with bevel faces 25 formed integral with the upper mar ins of the plates 19 secured to the housin s.

lvlotion is imparted to the crosshead 8 and rods 6 and 7' through the medium of.

eccentrics 26 and eccentric straps 27, the straps being bifurcated at their upper ends and connected with the lower ends ot the rods 6 and 7 by the bolts 28, the eccentrics being mounted on a shaft 29 carried by the maclune frame, which shaft is rotated by any suitable motor acting on the gear wheel 30.

t l ire l ed to each cutting device from a spool. or other source of supp y not shown, which means comprises a shaft 31 carried by brackets 32 secured. to the crossbar 15 by the bolts 18, which bolts 18 also hold the housing 16 containing the wire cutters, said shaft being additionally supported by a bearing 33 lined to the crossbar 15..

Carried by the shaft 31 and arranged for rotation therewith is a peripherally grooved wheel and a gear wheel 35. A forwardly and downwardly extended bearing 36 is formed integral with the bracket 32, and pivotally secured thereto is a bifurcated arm 37. ll lounted for rotation within the bifurcated. end of the arm 37 is a peripherally grooved wheel 38 and a gear wheel 39. it pin std is lined to the free end of the arm 37, and is engaged by the spring ll, which means normally holds the gear wheel 38 in I mesh with the wheel 35, thus the periph erally grooved wheels 38 and 34% are r0- tated in unison to move a wire held there between.

Fined near the end of the shaft 31 is a ratchet wheel 4:2 designed to be engaged by a detent 43 carried b y a pitman let, the up per end of which pituian is pivoted to the slotted arm 45 at its upper end, and is bit'un cated to embrace the driving shaft 29 at its lowerend. Carried by the pitman is a roller 46 designed to be engaged by the cam 47 carried by the shaft 29.

For straightening the end of the wire to be cut, an integral projection 48 is formed within the housing 16, said projection having an aperture formed therein and which aperture connects with the interior of the housing. A channel bar 19 is secured to the projection 48 having its channel in alinement with the aperture in the projection 48 and an adjustable collar 50 arranged on the channel bur 49. Thus it will be seen, a wire pushed through the channel bar and collar, and through the aperture formed in the projection 4.8 of the housing, will be straightened.

The wire cutters 22 are bifurcated at their lower ends, and the inner walls of the bifurcation are provided with vertical slots 51, which slots are arranged to hold the wire against rocking when being bent to shape incense a staple. This slotted, bifurcated arm of the cutter co-acts with the square lower ends or anvils of the levers 53 to form a staple, and the lovers are pivotally hung in bear ings and acted upon in one direction by springs 55. Afterthe staple is formed over the square end, the anvil 52, of the lever 53, it is held between the slotted walls of the wire cutter.

lfin'gers 56, secured to the sides of the plate are arranged to engage the bevel faces 5? of the levers 58 and force their lower ends outwardlyaway from the housing 16 so that its square end portion is removed from the path of travel of the wire cutter. .[l staple driver 58 is carried by the plate and partially embraced by the bi lurc ted ends of the wire cutter 22.

nied transversely of the i'uachine frame is a pair of channel bars 59, each of which is provided with a slot 60. Bearing blocks (51 are supported by the bars and arranged for lateral adjustment thereon by the bolts 62 and slots 60. ii-ranged within the block 61 are journal bearings (33, in which is journaled the shaft 64. Embracing the shaft (let immediately under each staple former is a wheel having its periphery roughened or knurled.

'lo impart rotary motion to the shaft 64, a ratchet wheel (56 is provided, which is adapted to be engaged by the dog '57, which is vertically reciprocated by the eccentric strap 27.

Each journal bearing 63 is provided with a set-screw 38, and co-acting with the setscrew to provide means for raising and low ering the shaft 64:, is a beam (39 having its end portions seated to slide vertically in the guides carried by the machine frame. Fixed near each end portion of the beam (39, is a pitman 71 bifurcated at its lower end to embrace the shaft 29. A roller 72 is carried by each pitman 71, and a cam 73 fixed to the shaft 29 engages and operates the roller and pitman, thereby elevating the beam 69. A peripheral extension 74-. on the cam 73 is provided for a momentary increased vertical movement of the rollers at the time when the staple is finally seated in the body of material to be stapled.

In the practical operation of the machine, assuming that power is applied thereto, and the shaft 29 rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, the cam 49 engaging the roller 4-6 reciprocates the pitman 45 vertically. The detcnt 43 carried by the pitman at its upper end is brought into engagement with one of the teeth on the ratchet wheel 42, causing it to rotate a distance equal to the stroke of the pitman. To vary the lengths of wire fed to the Wire cutting and forming devices, I have pro vided a series of ratchet wheels such as 42, which Wheels are of substantially the same morass diameter as thewheel shown, but having a different number of teeth on each wheel,

' thus the space between the teeth is varied and the travel of the detent changed as required to vary the rotary movement of the feed rollers. The ratchet wheel 42 is secured to the shaft 31, upon which is carried one of a series of wire feeding devices all of which are identical in construction, hence, only one of which will be referred to. In use, however, these devices are arranged in pairs, as shown. Embracing the shaft 31 and held against movement longitudinally thereof by the bracket 32, is a gear wheel 35 and a peripherally grooved wheel 34. A spring actuated lever carrying a gear wheel 39 in mesh with the wheel 35, is arranged to rotate a second grooved wheel 38-. These grooved wheels bind against the wire fed from a spool or other source of supply, and when rotated move the wire a certain distance with each rotation of the shaft 31. The wire fed from the grooved wheels enters a straightening device and from thence to the wire cutter and staple former. To cut a section of wire from the spool sufiicient to form a staple, the grooved end 22 of the plate 13 is moved downwardly within the housing and brought into contact with the wire and cuts same at the point within the housing where the wire straightening aperture connects with the interior of the housing. After the wire is cut a further downward movement of the wire cutter 35 forms a section of wire over the square ended lever 53 and within the slotted inner walls of the cutter. After the staple is formed the lever 53 is engaged by the finger 56 and pressed outwardly away from the housing, the staple being held within the slotted walls ofthe plate 13 by reason of its tendency to spring outwardly. A continued downward movement of the plate 13 brings the driver 58 into engagement with the staple and presses it into and through a body of material. At this time the detent 23 engages the bevel face at the upper margin of the plate 19, and the spring 21 serves to hold the cutter against the body of material to be stapled. After the staple is inserted through the material, the clenching wheel engages the free ends of the staple, and its rotary movement and roughened surface bends the ends of the staples 'into hook form, as "shown in Fig. 13. By reason of the movement, in a rotary direction, the

roughened periphery of the clenching wheel 65 will engage the ends of the staple as it is being driven and bend and draw the staples. By this construction and by reason of the face of the clenching wheel drawing the staples, an upward or backward movement of the staples is prevented. I preferably construct the machine so that the peripheral speed of the clenching wheel 65 is greater than the speed of the driver. After the hook is formed on the staple, the boss 74 on the periphery of the cam 73, acting on the rollers 7 2 and pitman 71, elevates the beam 69, which beam contacting with the set-screw 68 moves the shaft 64 upwardly. Thus the wheel 65 is forced upwardly against the staple and its hooked ends embedded in the body of the material. The clenching wheel has two movements, it rotates, and by its rotary movement its peripheral surface moves across the path of travel of the free end of the staple, which movement bends the ends of the staple gradually as the wheel rotates and virtually causes the points of the staple to assume an almost vertical position; the upward movement of the clenching wheel embeds the bent portion of the staple into the material.

While it is preferable touse a rotating clencher to bend the ends of the staple, any form of clencher may be employed which moves across the path of travel of the staple While it is being driven. However, I believe that a clencher which has a rotating movement and a roughened surface will give a more gradual and uniform curve to the ends of the staple, the roughened surface having a tendency to assist in the driving of the staple, and by using a rotating clencher I can control the direction of the clenching which is essential in the stapling or clenching of fibrous material.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the class described, a staple clenching device comprising a wheel provided with a roughened periphery for engaging the end portions of a staple to bend them into hook form, and means whereby said wheel is elevated to press upwardly the portions of the staples thus bent.

2. In a machine of the class. described, a clenching apparatus, comprising a wheel having a roughened periphery, a shaft embraced by said wheel, verticallymoving bearings for said shaft and means connected with the driving shaft of the machine for elevating the wheel at times.

3. In a machine of the class described, a clenching apparatus comprising a shaft mounted for rotation in vertically movable bearings, a wheel having a roughened periphery fixed on said shaft, a ratchet Wheel on said shaft, a dog for engaging said ratchet wheel. and means connected with the driving wheel of the machine for vertically reciprocating said dog.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a staple driving device, with a movable clenching member, the face of which engages the staples to bend and draw them while they are being driven, means whereby the clenching member is moved to embed the ends of the staple in the material being stapled and means whereby an man additional movement of the clenching memher in the direction of the bending, of the staples is imparted to the clenching member during the time of the movement of the clenching member to embed the ends of the staples.

5. ln a machine of the class described, a clenching apparatus, comprising a shaft, a roughened. wheel mounted for rotation on said shaft, vertically movable bearings for said shaft, means for rotating said shaft, means for elevating the shaft, and means for a further rotation and elevation of the shaft and roughened Wheel, whereby the staple driven through a body of material is formed at its lower ends into hook shape, and the hooks embedded Within a body of material.

noeaaae having a roughened periphery carried by said shaft, a ratchet on said shaft, a detent arranged for engagement with said ratchet at times, means for elevating the frame and clenching Wheel, said detent arranged to engage and rotate the clenching Wheel during the time the frame and ratchet Wheel are elevated.

7. in a staple forming and driving" machine, a rotating clenching member, means for rotating said member during the operation of driving the staple and means for changing the bodily position of the clenching member.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

Gaines M, vvatirna /Vitnesses F. E. LONGAN,

L. W'ALLAOE, 

